Choreographer's Cuisine

Beginning anew

2018-09-01T13:36:00.001-04:00

Hello Followers, family and friends

I have been blogging for quite some time now, and while I dearly love this quiet little blog, I felt it was time to start something fresh and new.

I've finally decided to listen to the people in my life who've told me I'm a good writer and actually see where it can take me. So, if I'm going to be a writer and maybe someday publish books, articles and poems, I need what's called a platform.

The term platform to a writer is the places you can be read from. You need a few good platforms to get the multitude of readers you need to get published Publishers and agents don't really care that you're a good writer if no one is going to read your book if they publish you.

So I made the very difficult decision to launch a new blog for a few different reasons.

My new blog is with Wordpress. this means it is easier to find. So more people will see it when they google certain things.
It's easier to track followers.
It can be more professional. I have actually made a complete website full of speeches I am willing to give, samples of my poetry and more tabs to come.

Are you excited? I am!!!!! I can't wait to see where God will take me through writing and this blog.

If you've enjoyed this blog please, follow this link and head over to my new blog and follow me there.

I look forward to seeing you over there!!!!!

For Christ
Monica

My life with new puppy

2018-08-26T18:46:00.000-04:00

You Really Want To Know?

Talk faster, use more words

Sound excited, give more praise

Rules and methods

Do’s and don'ts

I think I’m in a constant daze

Tangled legs in her leash

The “help” command - no clue

She will get it

This I know

For it’s still so new

She just used the litter box!

The cat is not impressed

She’ll step right up

But turns away
When slipping on her vest

French and English

Hand signs, tone

I think I'm going to scream

I am drowning in it all

I want to find routine

My shoe fell off

She stares at it

Wondering what to do

We try to fetch, to no avail

Cyrus, it's up to you

She doesn't bark

When I ask

The strategy is strange

I have strep throat

My sleep’s cut short

Confusion comes with change

It's not all work

There is fun

She loves to spin and play

And so that's it, just one more week,

That's all I have to say!

By: Monica

Week 1!!

2018-08-20T18:05:00.000-04:00

Well the long and agonizing wait is over!!! Canadian Guide Dogs started me on my 3 week training program with my new assistance dog on Monday August 13!!

I just completed my first week and am onto my second. I think I had forgotten how hard this process is. Electra is adorable and melted my heart from the first moment I laid eyes on her, but she's having to transfer her affections, her obedience and herself from the trainer who has had her for about a year, to me, a total stranger.

There have been moments of joy and laughter as she's obeyed me without the trainer here, but there have also been moments of tears and frustration and moments I have wanted to quit and give her back and get on with life and be with Cyrus.

But my love for her has won out every time and now at the beginning of my second week of training I can see the bond is already strong. She loves me, and I love her. She's my girl.

Electra

While I was in tears of exhaustion and absolute fatigue from the emotion and lack of sleep, my dear friend told me , "God didn't answer all your prayers to have you give up...." I strongly believe that, and God did what I thought looked impossible. He gave me this precious puppy, answered my prayer about the training taking place in the summer before I go back to work in the fall, He has workers and people around m like my friend I quoted above, to help me though this season, and He has promised He'll never leave me.

My little 'Lectra is truly a blessing above my wildest dreams and as time passes the bond, which even my trainer saw when she came this morning, will only grow deeper and stronger.

Something new and something good

2018-07-16T15:19:00.002-04:00

My sister introduced us to a Bible App called YouVersion about a month ago. this App is wonderful for a few reasons

Plans - there are hundreds of devotional plans you can do for literally every season of life. These plans are written very insightfully and are filled with scripture. I just finished one recently on the book of Ruth. I had never though about this beautiful book as being something more than a story (history). This study related the kinsman-redeemer (Boaz) to our Redeemer (Jesus - who came from that line)
The community - this app is set up so you can do plans with friends and family members. It has been so much fun doing plans together as a family. It is often hard to get us all together to read and discuss the Bible and also some of us (me) write better than we talk. YouVersion has room to write thoughts or questions and to have a discussion about the study. It's very community based.
Portability - This has been so helpful to me. It's often hard with my schedule to sit down and spend time with God before I leave for work or my actives. With the YouVersion app, it's can be put on iPhones or iPads and can be taken anywhere and everywhere. This has made it so much easier for me to regularly have my time with God.
Multiple Bible translations - this app has multiple Bible translations from NIV to the Amplified. Sometime it can be helpful to look up a verse in a different translation as different words are used.
Time - sometimes it can be hard to find that perfect amount of time in a day for devotions. I have struggled a lot with this. Depending on the devotion, YouVersion Bible plan devotionals take anywhere from five to ten minutes and are usually full of good insights to chew throughout the day.

Although not a complete substitute for a lengthy time of sitting alone with God and reading His Word, this App is definitely something I will use a lot in my life and something I would highly recommend. It has something for everyone, even kids!

CLICK HERE

Life 05

2018-07-07T14:04:00.000-04:00

This month has been very exciting and full.

My writing lessons started at the beginning of June. They're better than I could've ever imagined. I am learning about characters, and plots, and story structure. The best part of this is that by the end of the summer I will have a short story that's ready for publication!! I am having fun and am excited to have a story in my hands. When it's done, it will be the first creative writing project I've finished since my high school.

When I'm not writing, I'm still dancing. The company filmed one of our repertoire pieces last week. We all worked really hard and had so much fun to remounting this piece we did about 3 years ago. There were some changes to the cast, however we did our best to keep the piece the same. I feel very proud after the week this week of all the work the company has done and how we all rose to the challenges that seem to always come up in process.

Also, on the work front, there are two more works-in progress we are pleased to add to the repertoire. My boss has created a piece with some community dancers and my colleague Rob has done an enormous amount of research and has rediscovered his Wendate Huron heritage. Both pieces were woven together with so much thought and love and as I sat in the audience for the first time in about 10 year, I felt an enormous surge of pride not only in these two choreographers, who have become so dear to me over the last 10 years, but in being a part of this remarkable group, and not just the company, but the organization at large. It truly is a wonderful place to work and the love and support we all have for each other was tangible.

Summer is here and though it will be a time of rest for me from work, I'm still planning to keep busy with lots of new and wonderful projects and activities as God directs. I can't wait to update you on these next month!!

Life 04

2018-05-28T14:57:00.000-04:00

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven." Ecclesiastes 3:1.

This past month has been the month of new beginnings. After 9 years of learning and growing, Cyrus and I said our goodbyes to our friends at the French school I have been going to for the last nine years. While I still have a great love for the language and have no intent of losing all I've learned. This decision has freed up more time for writing and as a result I did my first ever guest post on a writing acquaintance's blog just last week. I'm also eagerly awaiting the start of writing lessons staring this Monday. Stay tuned for more about that soon!!!

God has also blessed us with a new Lifetime Network Facilitator (or Community Connector as they are now called) I am tremendously excited about this and I feel that this lady is the perfect fit for both me and my family at this time in our lives. Among many other things she'll be helping us build a team around me to help me transition to more independence including the possibility of and first stepping stones of starting my own household.

I truly can’t wait to see what unfolds in the next month and what amazing things I’ll have to say next time.

"Do you trust me?"

2018-05-15T16:42:00.002-04:00

I really like the movie Aladdin. One of the most poignant lines in the movie is "Do you trust me?" This line, spoken by Aladdin himself, comes up twice in the movie. Once at the beginning in his humble dwelling and once more about half way through when Aladdin is at the palace offering a Magic Carpet ride.

Now what does Aladdin have to do with God?

Research by Thomas Pierre Verduyn author of "The Former Things - A summary of world history" has shown that the Bible is 42 percent history and 22 percent prophecy (the other 36 percent he accounted as "other" but it would fall under the category of wisdom/poetry/teaching). In order for the Bible to contain that much history, or as some like to call it, His Story, it must be really, really important to God.

I find it interesting that through the years, many have had no problem believing Darwin's theory of evolution, propaganda of the Communists, Nazi’s, Hezbollah, ISIS, or even our own government, but we question God’s Biblical account.

Many tend to believe what we Google, what’s written in newspapers, announced on the radio or TV, or read on Facebook.

And yet, when we read the Biblical account of how God created the world by the power of His Word, caused a worldwide flood; many scoff at the fantasy.

God is asking each of us "Do you trust Me?" And this is no movie.

Life 03

2018-04-30T22:26:00.002-04:00

This month has been full of people, activities, and craziness.

A few weekends ago, I kissed 26 goodbye. As per usual, my mom's parents came down to celebrate. My Granny also came down for it as my sister had a concert that afternoon. Because of where the clarinets are positioned in the orchestra, we didn't know whether we'd be able to see her or not. We were pleasently surprised to find that we could!!

You may remember a while ago I posted about a new part of my life called Lifetime Networks. I had started this journey and then for a few different reasons the person that was working with me to start and run my network left. Now, God has provided a new person to run with me. Funny thing is, I already knew her. Imagine our excitement! I can't wait to get to know her better!!

I don't know about you, but to me, my birthday is like New Year's Day. Fresh, clean and sparkling with new experiences, fresh possibilities. God ready, hand outstretched, ready to lead me though them all. I am so excited to see where God takes me this year, being 27.

Jiminy Crickets 1

2018-04-08T17:33:00.001-04:00

The inspiration behind this post may seem a little strange. My mother likes to sing. Most of her songs are worship, but every now and then she'll sing a song that makes us pucker our brows and giggle. This time her song was about Jiminy Cricket. Jiminy Cricket was Pinocchio's conscience.

As I look around me in this period of time that we live in, I'm saddened because it seems to me like most of the Jiminy Crickets are fast asleep or are numbed. Jiminy's mouth has been shut or he's been thrown into the deepest darkest dungeon never to be seen or heard from again.

When we do these things to poor little Jiminy Cricket we suffer. You see, our Jiminy Cricket is a gift. A gift given to us by the One who made us. It's time to honour our Jiminy Crickets, and to get them out of jail, or wake them up or de-numb them, but we can't do this alone.

I had a discussion with Mom about this very thing recently. She reminded me that it's not up to me to awaken little Jiminy in the people I love; it's God's job. And she also reminded me that even though it looks hopeless it's not too late until death's door opens.

So if there's someone you love, someone who you think may have a sleeping Jiminy Cricket somewhere deep inside; pray. Pray that God would, by the power of His Spirit, awaken precious little Jiminy Cricket (our conscience) so he can start chirping again.

Life 02

2018-04-01T16:32:00.002-04:00

Well here we are at the end of March. Time has flown, so I must have had fun!

Though for much of March I have been on half days as The GCTC or Great Canadian Theater Company hasn't been available. When this happens we rehearse in community centers. The last two weeks of work we have been back to GCTC with a phenomenal array of morning classes; including one taught by one of our musicians on musicality. We had so much fun clapping, stomping, walking and wheeling different beats that we were surprised when we checked our clocks and found we were actually a couple minutes over time. We felt like we'd just started!!

I'm also preparing for our end-of-year showcase with the classes I teach. We had to close the young children's class due to dwindling numbers, but our older children will perform as well as the youth class. My kids have had fun learning and dancing different kinds of weather and space objects. My co-teacher and i like to joke that we've taught a geology class and combined it with dance; and really that is what we did!!! We start with asteroids that we had to come up with a way to describe to kids. My co-teacher came up with the name space potatoes and it stuck. We had another good laugh as, when asked what music to create our musician came up with a waltz! We enter as waltzing space-potato meters!! That's just one example of the antics we teachers use to create dance!!

We have also started the process of getting a new service dog to take over Cyrus's duties as he'll be retired in the summer. (He will stay with us though) I met with the trainer and she's now looking for the best fit for me. Once the dog is found, she'll train the dog specifically for my needs then I will train with the dog.

As always I try to live a life “worthy of our calling” Ephesians 1:4 This is definitely easier said than done and sadly I feel I've missed the mark a few times this month. It is however comforting to know that even if I miss the mark, that God is gracious and forgiving and He'll pick me up and we'll try again.

Hope

2018-03-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

At our church's Wednesday evening Bible study, we watched a documentary on Angola Prison. Watching the video and then listening to the discussion around my table afterwards got me pondering something.

This prison is a death row prison, meaning people come in and never leave. They die there. A few years ago, a Bible college was started right there in the prison. Hundreds of men's lives were changed, and one has left the prison and is now a pastor. These men are getting hope.

Around the table we began discussing the definition of hope? The dictionary defines hope like this: a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen, a feeling of trust As a verb it is defined: wanting something to happen or be the case.

So this brings us to the next question. As Christians, what is our hope in?

It's easy to say "I hope you feel better" to a friend or a family member who's sick. This is all in perfect line with the definition. But as believers this is not where our hope should be. My hope should not be in getting healed, for example. Instead my hope should be in the Lord and His promises -not as in "I hope He'll keep His word" but an actual trust that what He says He’ll do.

And what does He say?

Here, in the land of the living:

He Loves me
He is with me
He walks through the dark times even through the shadow of death
He always gives me a way out of temptation
He is my defender
He's my provider

And in the future?

Jesus will stand in front of me on that Day of Judgment
I will dwell with Him forever
I will be reconciled to Father God
I will be healed
I will never be sick, have tears or suffer again
I will worship Him forever

It is not what my hope is in. It is Who my hope in!

Jesus!

1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect

Perspective

2018-03-10T17:40:00.000-05:00

My Mom has been going around singing a song we sang at church last Sunday called Potter’s Hands. It’s a gorgeous song of surrender so I wasn’t too alarmed when, now almost a week later I can’t seem to get the song out of my head either!

Then the urge struck to sing it from God’s perspective. Not sure how this would work, I started working my way through the song and found it’s just as powerful this way.

Pronouns get changed.

Instead of me telling Him what to do with me, it becomes He's telling me what He will do for me.

Here’s an example just with the chorus…

Real Chorus by Darlene Zschech

Take me, Mold me, use me, fill me
I give my life to the Potter's hand
Call me, guide me, lead me, walk beside me
I give my life to the Potter's hand

New Chorus

I’ll take you, Mold you, use you, fill you
As you give your life into the Potter's hand
I'll call you, guide you, lead you, walk beside you
As you give your life into the Potter's hand

The verses are just as powerful. Here is one line.

Teach me dear Lord to live all of my life through your eyes

Singing it from God's perspective (I will teach you My child to live all of your life through My eyes) revealed to me that this is His desire. He wants to “take us & mold us...” as the song says. He desires for us to “live all of our lives through His eyes” not our own.

Sometimes it isn't easy to see though God's eyes. Sometimes He may show us things that we'd rather not see. When we look through His eyes and allow Him to speak to us along the way, and to mold us into willing vessels ready to not only see through His eyes but to act from His heart we expeirience a change. Not an outward change but an inward one. Our outlook becomes more like Jesus and things that bothered us will all of a sudden not bother us as much or at all.

This has become my prayer. That I would see each person, each circumstance, through His eyes and not my own because my view of people and circumstances is warped. But when I look through God’s eyes at that person, suddenly I see the person as a lost lamb and my heart fills with compassion to help them; or when I look at that circumstance through His eyes, suddenly it doesn’t seem as overwhelming anymore.

Creation's proclamation 1

2018-03-03T19:19:00.001-05:00

One year in school I did a presentation on the solar system. I studied the planets, the stars, asteroids, the sun... Then I picked one planet and I studied more about it. The planet I chose to focus on was Jupiter. As I studied, I discovered Jupiter has moons that obit it. At that time, there were 16 moons around Jupiter - now, however, they've discover 53!!!

My planet line up; with Mom as the sun!!!!

That time I spent studying the night sky so long ago stirred in me a love for astronomy. The more we discover about the vastness of space the more we realize how much we don't actually know. Scientists have just recently discovered that some of the rings around Saturn are actually braided!! The more we discover, the more awesome it all seems; but we've only just scratched the tip of the iceberg so to speak. Thereès a whole lot more out there just waiting to point us to it's Creator

God must've had a purpose in mind when He created all of this, especially if we weren't going to be able to see a lot of it with our naked eye. So, what is the purpose of Creation? What's the purpose of the sun, moon, stars, planets, asteroids and constellations? In Psalm 19 it says: "The heavens declare the glory of God..." I truly believe that this is the number one reason for creation. To point to the One who made it all.

Valentine's

2018-02-17T14:18:00.000-05:00

I know a lot of people now who don't like Valentine's Day. I totally get why too, if you're single Valentine's Day can remind you of your singleness. But personally, I think Valentine's Day is a wonderful day. Here are two reasons why.

Just because I'm not married, not engaged, and don't have a boyfriend doesn't mean I'm not loved. In fact, I know I'm very loved by my parents, my sister, my friends, my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins... Yes I may be single but I'm loved.

Secondly, we Christians have the best Valentine in the world, Jesus. John 3:16a says "For God so loved the world..." And you know what? God gave us the best Valentine's gift ever in His Son. Furthermore, Scripture says that we, the church, are the bride of Christ (Revelation 19.) If you think about it that way, even all you single people out there are "engaged" if you truly believe in Jesus.

Years ago, Istarted a tradition. I would wake up on Valentine's Day and before talking to anyone else would whisper "Happy Valentine's Day Lord" because it is so true, He is the Lover of our Souls. He'll love us even if no one else does.

I know its a year away, but next Valentine's Day, instead of getting upset or depressed because you're single, will you mark your calendars and join me in first recognizing how loved we are, and then by offering up a simple prayer to the God who created you, and loves you more than anyone else ever could?

Thank you.

2018-02-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

Two simple words, yet possibly two of the most powerful words in the English language. These words can make someone feel like they helped, blessed, made someone feel special.

People love hearing the words "thank you." Have you ever really thought about it though? I mean , if we love hearing these words so much, how much more would God love hearing them. A friend of mine and I started something about a year ago. We'd text each other every day with something we were grateful for. It was like thanking God for something every day.

In Proverbs17:22 it says "A cheerful heart is good medicine..." Being grateful is like having a cheerful heart and is exceedingly healthy for our minds and hearts.

It's easy to say thank you when we get what we want or when we receive an answer to our prayers. But how about when we don't get what we want or that prayer isn't answered the way we'd hoped? Is it still important to say thank you? I believe it is and even though I'm not pretending to be an expert in this area, the exercise my friend started has helped me to see the good in each day and to then turn around and thank the Creator for His involvement.

So let's use these two simple little words to show others we appreciate what they do but let's show God we appreciate the things He does for us both big and small; whether He answers our prayers the way we want or not.

Life 01

2018-01-27T19:04:00.002-05:00

Well January is almost over, so here we are with the first update on the life of Monica.

In typical fashion, I hit the slopes the first week of January, ready to dash into my eighth year of skiing. Unfortunately that first week was -30 with the wind chill of skiing so we only lasted about 30 minutes. The next week it rained and our van broke, but since then, we've had some lovely ski weather and loads of fun. Last week I even went over a jump and got some air. Kudos to my volunteer tether guy!

At work, my colleague asked me again if I would dance in her creation. I have always said no due to a few different things, however, this time, I felt the release in my spirit to say yes. So I've taken on a huge learning curve as the piece is already created and I'm now being integrated in. It's fun though and I'm making new friends and enjoying being with my colleagues more.

Another big part of the company's activities is our company class. I love these. We have different teachers in, so we've been learning lots of different things. This month we've been having an instructor from the staff of GCTC where we are the company in residence. Hugh has been taking us on an adventure through theater skills. We've been having a blast playing games centered around the intention of how we say certain things. Last week we learned three lines of his favourite song and had to sing them different ways with different intents.

I have greatly enjoyed getting back to teaching my two little classes on Saturday mornings. It has been so rewarding for me to know I'm making a difference in these kid's lives. Along with that I attended a teacher training day a few weekends ago where all the teachers of all the classes came together for the day and learned new techniques and exercises and got to ask questions and talk about our classes. I find those days very refreshing as we all support each other and we as teachers and teacher's assistants get to have some fun together.

With only a few days left of January and a whole week off work, I hope to spend some time writing, playing and training Cyrus, reading and perhaps the most important thing of all; spending time getting refreshed by the Lord.

Challenge that produses trust

2018-01-21T21:19:00.001-05:00

For the last many months, I have been mourning the loss of my PSW (personal support worker.) When someone works closely with you day after day, it is hard not to become friends. We share stories and life. Over the year she was caring for me I grew to trust her.

But here's the thing, she was one of many workers over the last four years who has left after a short period of time. And like with the others, I asked God a very simple question "Why?" why just as trust and friendship develops, do they leave to go on to other jobs, studies or careers? Through this and many other losses, God is teaching me that change is good, and to trust Him in it all.

Does it still hurt? Of course it does. Do I miss her? Absolutely. But I am slowly learning to see everything God choreographs into my life as good. It doesn't always feel that way. Sometimes I wish He would allow one or two workers to stay for a few years. But it seems that God likes to choreograph challenge and change into my life so I have to trust Him and Him alone. Well, at least trust Him more than people. I'm sometimes not a very good student, but the Choreographer is always patient and will pick me up and we'll try again.

There's a quote I like by Billy Graham that states "Mountain tops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys."

Fact or fantasy - 6 days or 6 billion years

2018-01-13T17:29:00.001-05:00

It's amazing to me that out of all books of the Bible, Genesis is the one book that is quite often attacked. I talked about the flood and how the Ark was built. Now I'd like to tackle the biggest and possibly most controversial issue of all time...the issue of Creation.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over thesurface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day..." Genesis 1:1 - 5

You probably know the rest, the chapter goes on to describe the 6 days of creation.

Now, the issue here is that this Scripture has been twisted and added onto by man. The Bible warns us in Proverbs explicitly not to do this.

The Hebrew word for day in this context is "Yom." In this context when associated with adjectives such as evening, morning or a number this word means a 24 hour day. The problem is that most people are reading into this that this means billions of years. If we think that way, where did our 24 hour day 7 day week come from?

You see we have our 24 hour day 7 day week because God created them first. It was the Creator that made it that way the day, the month and the year are all set up by God from the solar system, but the week is set up from creation .His example of how to use our week is how He used it Himself. He used 6 days to create all we see, and on the 7th day He rested therefore declaring by His own example that the seventh day was to be a day of rest.

Do we EVER wonder about how to use the word day with how long Jonah was in the big fish? Three billion years???

Or maybe how many days Joshua marched around Jericho? Seven million years, or 7 thousand if you use the out of context argument that one day is like a thousand years…)?

Do you know the ONLY reason billions of years is even a concept (no science whatsoever) is because people wanted to be able to explain the world without God? It’s called materialism. That’s it folks! There is no other reason. So as a Christian, if you aren’t angry as a hornet about this skewing of God’s very Word, there is something very wrong, and you now have something to be angry about!

I find it very sad how people have misinterpreted this Scripture and the others I've mentioned in the other Fact or Fantasy series. But what makes me sadder still is how many people actually believe this misinterpretation.

The God I worship was there. He knows what He is talking about. And that is the God I trust my life to.

Let’s just say when Alexander had his “Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, I am glad I know it was only one 24 hour period!

Snow

2018-01-06T17:01:00.000-05:00

How many of you like snow?? It's ok if the answer is no. However snow is quite beautiful and I believe there are lessons it can teach us.

First, snow is so pure and white. I think of this symbolically of the purity of heart we get when we accept Jesus. He washes us white as snow. In Psalm 51:7 it says: "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." The psalmist knew he couldn't be clean on the inside without the washing of the Holy Spirit.

This brings us nicely to the second point; Snow gets dirty and because it's white, the dirt shows up all the more. To me, this is again like us. As I interact with the world, I'm getting dirty. I can't avoid the dirt, but it is my responsibility to wash my spirit; by reading the Word and through prayer, just like I wash my body, so I am like clean snow, inside and out.

As much as snow is really hard to deal with sometimes, let's let the beauty of this part of God's creation teach us what it can.

New Year

2018-01-01T14:05:00.002-05:00

There's something about a New Year. New agendas, new clothes, new schedules (maybe.) New Year's resolutions.

I don't know about you, but every year I set ambitious goals for myself that never end up working. It's all very easy when you've got weeks stretching before you to set a goal or two, but the reality is, it's much harder once you’re up to your eyeballs in work and life.

So, instead of making a bunch of goals that I probably won't be able to keep, I have set three “simple” ones that I hope and pray I can stick to – even when my crazy schedule returns to it's full tilt craziness.

I am going to blog every Saturday. I am told consistency is a good thing, especially if publication is your goal; which for me it is. So, here's what you can expect going forward. I'll be keeping my theme as “God as The Choreographer of life” for my blog; so will be posting things He's teaching me and showing me. On the last Saturday of each month, I'll do a fun post, sharing my activities, adventures, and antics from the month.

I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time staying focused on anything in a messy space. My goal this year is to keep my areas organized. However, I'm not just talking about my physical spaces and rooms, I'm talking about my life too. I feel I need to organize my days so I have time for the people and things that are important to me.

The last thing that is in my heart this year is the "one word " from God. My word for 2018 is boldness. I feel the Lord has shown me yet again, that I'm too passive. I need to speak up more, I need to shine more.

Until next time

Happy New Year

The Candy Cane

2017-12-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

As I often do at this time of the year, I've been thinking a lot about Christmas. Like usual though, my thought have been taking a specific path. The Candy Cane.

When I was little I had a book called The Legend of the Candy Cane. I don't really remember the book too well and actually don't think I liked it very much. However, I do remember a few things.

The candy cane is shaped in a very special way. One way it looks like a shepherds staff, symbolizing the shepherds who came at the angel's word to see Him. Now flip your candy cane around. It's now the capitol letter "J" standing for Jesus who is what Christmas is all about. (and is also called the Good Shepherd)

Now-a-days people have made different looking candy canes, but the traditional ones are red and white. This symbolizes the sacrifice Jesus made for us. The red symbolizes His blood and the white our purity after we accept Him. His blood washes us white as snow.

At Christmas, I like to not only focus on the Baby in the manger, but on His life and death and resurrection because that to me is the true Miracle of Christmas.

Will you join me?

Forgivness

2017-11-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

Forgiveness is hard and sometimes painful. But God commands it. In Matthew 6, right after teaching the disciple to pray Jesus says "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Ouch.

There are many examples in Scripture of forgiveness. Jesus Himself with his dying breath said "Father forgive them for the know not what they do."

But let's turn for a few moments to the very first book of the Bible. I'm not going to put it here because if I did you'd still be reading next year, but I encourage you to read at your own time Genesis Chapters 37, 39-45.

In these passages we read of a young man named Joseph. Joseph was mistreated by his 10 older brothers and is sold into slavery in Egypt at age 17. There with the help of God he earned the respect of Pharaoh and became ruler of the land next to Pharaoh himself. Due to a lengthy famine Joseph's brothers appear in Egypt.

This story is portrayed very powerfully by Sight and Sound Theater. In this full length production, the cast portray Joseph wrestling with God and finally forgiving his 10 brothers for what they did to him.

Now that might seem like a nice story with a happy ending like a fairy tale, but its not a fairy tale. It's real. I have learned over many years that forgiveness, as hard as it is, is freeing . And like we see in the story of Joseph, forgiveness reconciled a family.

Who is God asking you to forgive?

Fact or fantasy - worldwide or local

2017-11-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

The flood of Noah's day was a pretty huge event. In my last post, Fact or fantasy -how big was it? I talked about the common misinterpretation of how the ark was built and it's size. This week, we're going to look at another of these common misinterpretations. The flood itself.

In Genesis 7:4 and 17 - 23 it says: ""Seven days from now I'll send rain on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights, and I'll destroy every living creature that I've made."... Every living thing on earth died flying creatures, livestock, wildlife, all creatures that swarm over the earth, and all human beings. Everything that breathed and everything that had lived on dry land died. All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark. The flood waters surged over the earth for 150 days."

If there really was a worldwide, catastrophic flood, what would you expect to find? I would expect to find canyons created by not by a slow trickle of water over billions of years but by masses of water breaking the earth in a matter of days. I'd expect there to be marine fossils on top of mountain tops. I'd expect archeologists to be digging up billions of dead things buried in rock layers all over the earth. And that is what's happening. God is confirming His Word over and over again.

In my last post I promised you all a surprise at the end of this post. To listen to that surprise now click here

Fact or fantasy - how big was it?

2017-10-04T15:22:00.001-04:00

Have you ever seen children's Bibles? The picture of Noah's ark usually looks something like this.

There are a few common misinterpretations dealing with the account of the worldwide flood. To start with, depending on the picture you look at it either has the animals sticking their heads out a window, sticking their heads out the roof or lounging on the deck. I really doubt they would have done any of those things if it was very stormy which the Bible says it was. If the ark looked like that, how in the world did Noah get ALL the animals in?

Well, here's some food for thought around the Noah's Ark issue based on Scripture and some things we learned at the Creation Conference and Ark Encounter in Kentucky.

In Genesis Chapter 5 verses 15 and 16 God gives Noah very detailed descriptions on what the ark is to look like. "This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits (1 and a half football fields) long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks."There is no talk of windows, or a deck outside with chairs to sit on!!

So in reality the ark probably looked something like this

The Ark Encounter in Kentucky

Believe it or not, this is a huge issue for some people. People want to know how all the animals fit on the Ark, and if all they are picturing is the top picture, no wonder they're asking that question.

The key is if we go to the Source, the true Biblical account, these problems disappear.

In my next post I'll talk about another common misinterpretation of this story, some science, and you'll get a treat too!!

Liebster Bloggers Award

2017-09-03T20:22:00.001-04:00

I was reading a blog post of one of the very few blogs I follow. As I neared the end of it I was surprised to find my name as a nominee for this award. This award is for bloggers with less than 200 followers and is designed to help them get more followers. In addition to answering the 11 questions my nominator asked and providing 11 facts about myself I will be nominating up to 11 other bloggers for this award. So here goes!!

What is your least favourite food?

I know, I know. I'm a strange duck but I hate cheese. I like it on pizza, lasagna though

2.    How do you find inspiration for your blogs?

I usually blog about my life, and/or what God is teaching me. Sometimes the two go hand in hand

3. What is your favourite unusual word?

This would have to be fantabulous!! Isn't it just the funnest word EVER!?

   4. Cake or ice cream?

Ummmm....both

        5.   What’s your favourite colour?

PURPLE!!!!!

         6. Who’s your favourite actor or actress?

Can I have two? I really like Fred Astair for his dancing. I like Ben Barnes for his believable acting.

         7. What is your favourite genre to read?

I love fantasy. Books like The Brotherband Chronicles, Ranger's Apprentice and The Chronicles of Narnia...love 'em!

          8. What is your favourite verse in the Bible?

Psalm 144.

           9. If you could live in one place where would it be, and why?

I'm kinda a homebody. I like my home, church, friends, and city.

           10. How long have you been blogging?

I started blogging before Christmas about 3 years ago

            11. How old are you?

I am 26 years old

Well those were fun to answer! Thanks Anna-Lee. You can check out her blog by pressing the link on her name.

Now on to the facts about me:

I am the oldest of two girls.
I am in a power wheelchair and have a service dog for mobility help
I LOVE winter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm a professional dancer with an integrated dance company.
I'm a pasta and seafood nut!!
I love Jesus
My family does the best holidays ever!!!!
My favourite authors are John Flanagan and Melanie Dickerson. You have to check them out! They're seriously the best!!
I love the autumn
My favourite singing group would have to be Hawk Nelson
I'm a makeup, earring, fake nail girly girl

The bloggers I have chosen are:

Kaylin: Picked by Hand

Linda (Mom): The Compass Rose

Here are the guideline for this award:

Acknowledge the blogger(s) who nominated you by naming them and putting their blog link on your blog.

Give your reply for the 11 questions they ask you.

Give 11 neat facts about yourself.

Give this award to up to 11 other bloggers who you think deserve it! (with less than 200 followers). Explain the rules to them!

Let the bloggers know that you nominated them.

Give them 11 questions to answer in their blog.

Show the award!

So now we'll get on to the questions I have for Linda and Kaylin:

Why a blog?

What passage of scripture speaks to you most and why?

If you could go anywhere in the world for a missions trip where would it be?

Who is your favourite author?

What's your favourite colour?
What one of God's Names speaks to you most?
What Disney movie do like most?
What's your dream vacation?
What is your favourite quote?
What time of day do you enjoy most?
If you were to choose any show to attend what would you pick?